Month: January 2016

There is a moment in our newly published science fiction novel The Lexicon where the BART train stops under the SAn Francisco bay. My heart skips a beat each time. Today as I am writing this i am on BART under the bay.

I have made this trip numerous times since my parents moved to a small retirement community outside of rio vista. My heart still skips a beat each time. I find myself inhaling deeper until we emerge back into the daylight.

This trip for me is fraught with peril and that sense of being out of control. Reliance on schedules, timetables and placing myself in the hands and mercy of others. I am not good at that. It is now I realize I am a control freak. I like being in charge of my schedule. Perhaps that is why I enjoy writing fiction. I can control not only my characters actions vmbut also their environment.

I won’t give away what happens in the lexicon. You will have to read it yourself. But we did manipulate the system to meet the story needs.

Welcome to 2016! I am excited about the start of a new year and Pixel is, too.

Pixel crashing on New Year’s Eve

I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve reviewing my resolutions from 2015 and thinking about my resolutions for 2016.

I did not achieve all my resolutions for 2015 though I did manage to keep several of them. I finished my reading challenge of 52 books on goodreads. This exposed me to a variety of books from ones on gemstones to the history of the Romanovs to literary fiction and of course, several cozy mysteries. I have set a new goal on goodreads for 54 books in 2016.

I filled my second goal of the reading challenge of finishing every book I started in 2015. In the past, I have picked up books, made it halfway through and put them down for something more interesting. This turned into an difficult challenge for me as I had to push myself through the last 200 pages of Donna Tartt’s the Goldfinch and several others. Let’s say this is probably not a resolution I will keep.

I did not lose the ten pounds I had committed to losing but I did manage to maintain my 30+ pound weight loss. I consider this an achievement as I faced many temptations from work treats to a food-filled vacation to holiday madness. I am starting over today and recommitted myself to my low-carb diet.

However, it has been an amazing year. I am grateful for the three books I have published Murder by the Spoonful, Pickin’ Murder and the Postman is Late. I am grateful for the readers and reviewers I have met along the way. I have felt welcomed in the cozy mystery community and look forward to meeting more of you.

So, on to the newest resolution that I have made with my writing partner husband, Brian. We have committed ourselves to writing a first draft of a cozy each month so hopefully that means 12 books over the next year. We are now halfway into the third book of the Antique Hunters Mystery Series, further chronicling the adventures of Anne and CC.

I spent the day with Anne yesterday browsing one of our favorite antique stores. Some of our excursion will probably end up in the book. I am excited for the New Year. How about you? What are you looking forward to in 2016?